According to trinity’s Dr Constantin Gurdgiev anyway (Editor of Business & Finance magazine). On Thursday’s RTE Prime Time the good doctor referred to OECD data to support the contention that Ireland showers its unemployed with cash.

Other commentators are predictably unconvinced, having tackled the issue a number of times before. The question remains though, with authoritative figures such as trinity research fellows continuing to make the unchallenged claim that Ireland’s social welfare system is a benefits bonanza on national television, what will it take to kill this conservative meme once and for all?

Graffiti via ‘Bristol Graffiti’